A beautiful and very successful actress was the star of a new musical show. Her home was in the country, but she didn’t want to have to go back there every night, so she rented (租用) an expensive flat in the centre of the city, bought some beautiful furniture (家具) and hired a man to paint the rooms in new colors.

It was very difficult to get tickets for her show because everybody wanted to see it, so she decided to give the painter two of the best seats. She hoped that this would make him work better and more willingly for her. He took the tickets without saying anything, and she heard no more about them until the end of the month, when she got the painter’s bill. At the bottom of it were the words “Four hours watching Miss Hall sing and dance,£3,” with this note：“After 5 p.m. I get fifteen shillings an hour instead of ten shillings.”

( )1. In the article, “Miss Hall” was the name of ______.

A. a place where people sang and danced B. an unmarried woman

C. a hall D. a street

( )2. The actress gave the painter two tickets, hoping he would______.

A. be pleased B. ask less money for his work

C. charge more money for his work D. say a good word for her musical show

( )3. After the painter got the tickets from the actress, he ______.

A. sold them for £3 B. went to watch the musical show

C. paid £3 for them D. was very thankful to her

( )4. In the story ,______ made a mistake.

A. both the actress and the painter B. neither the actress nor the painter

A cat goes to a river every day. He wants to go fishing. But he can't catch any fish. One day, he goes to the river as usual(像往常).Suddenly(突然) a fish comes out. He catches(捉到) the fish. He is very happy. He forgets to put the fish in the basket. He dances and sings. He shouts, "I have a fish! I have a fish!" All his friends come to see him." Where is your fish? Let us have a look at it." his friends say." It’s there, near the bank(河岸附近)." the cat answers. But he can't find the fish. When he sings and dances, the fish jumps back into the river. All his friends laugh at(嘲笑) him because they don’t see any fish there.

There are many kinds of heroes. Even animals can be heroes. This month’s newsletter tells about three amazing animals. Each one is a hero!

Thumper the Dog

Thumper was a dog that lived with a family which had a three-year-old son named Benjamin. One day Benjamin wandered into a large field. The grass in the field was taller than he was, so he could not find his way out. Hundreds of people began to search for Benjamin. When they found him, they saw Thumper stayed with Benjamin and kept him warm. So Benjamin had stayed safe and calm.

Lulu the Pig

The Altsmans had a pet pig named Lulu. One summer the couple went camping and took Lulu with them. The husband went fishing one morning. The wife didn’t feel well, so she and Lulu stayed in the camper. Suddenly Mrs. Altsman fell to the floor. Lulu pushed the camper door open and climbed out to locate help. When a car came by, she lay down in front of it. When the driver got out, Lulu led him back to the camper. The man called for help and Mrs. Altsman was taken to hospital.

Sugar the Cat

Sugar was a beautiful cat. Three years ago she wandered onto the Woods’ farm in California and Mrs. Woods began feeding her. Mrs. Woods noticed something wrong with the cat’s left leg, but this didn’t make Sugar any less special. Mrs. Woods loved Sugar. Later the couple moved to a new farm in Oklahoma. They gave Sugar to a neighbor who would take good care of her, because they knew she wouldn’t like riding in cars for days. However, Sugar walked across deserts and mountains and traveled more than 1,500 miles to the Woods’ new farm! Mr. and Mrs. Woods could hardly believe their eyes. No one knows how Sugar found her way to Oklahoma.

Mum gives little Tom ten yuan. Then little Tom goes shopping. He gets on the bus and sits down next to an old woman. Then he sees the old woman’s bag is open. There is ten yuan in it. He quickly looks into his pocket. The money isn’t there now! Little Tom is sure that the old woman is a thief（小偷）. He decides（决定）to take back the money from the old woman’s bag. So he carefully puts his hand into the old woman’s bag，takes the money and says nothing. Suddenly（突然地）the old woman shouts，“Where is my money? I can’t find it. There is a thief in the bus.” Little Tom feels strange（奇怪的）. Then he sees his own ten yuan under his seat. Little Tom is thinking a question now，“Am I a thief ?”

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said, “I am blind, please help.”

There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”

What he had written was, “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.” Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course, both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.

The first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind.

An French woman goes to London to see her son. She knows a little English, but can not speak it very well. One day she goes to a shop. She wants to buy a hen(母鸡) for supper. But she can not remember(记得)the English word for “hen”. Just then the shop waiter asks her, “Can I help you?” “I want the egg’s mother.” the woman answered, The shop waiter does not understand(明白)her and says, “Sorry, we have not any bigger (较大的)eggs.” Suddenly(突然)the woman remembers(记起)the word “cock(公鸡) ”. She says, “I want the cock’s wife!” This time the shop waiter laughs(笑).

Laura is at the airport．She waits for her plane．Her plane is to Berlin，and it is four hours away．Laura walks around the shops．

After an hour she wants to go to the bathroom．But she doesn’t find it．“Where is the bathroom?”she says．She starts asking other people．Laura says to a man，“Excuse me，Sir，could you please tell me where the bathroom is?”The man says，“You mean the restroom，right?”Laura says，“No，I mean the bathroom．”“Well，the restroom is over there。”he says and walks away．

A French woman goes to London to see her son. She knows a little English, but can not speak it very well. One day she goes to a shop. She wants to buy a hen(母鸡) for supper. But she can not remember(记得) the English word for “hen”. Just then the shop waiter asks her: “Can I help you?” “I want the egg’s mother” the woman answered. The shop waiter does not understand（明白） her and says:“ Sorry, we have not any bigger(较大的) eggs.” Suddenly(突然) the woman remembers（记起） the word “cock(公鸡)”.She says:“ I want the cock’s wife!” This time the shop waiter laughs(笑).

Tom is thirteen years old. He is in Grade Seven this year. He likes playing football and watching football matches. And he often reads newspapers. He does his best to know when and where there is going to be a football match. Now Tom is having lunch and he is also reading newspapers. He is very happy because there is going to be a nice football match on TV at four this afternoon. He wants to watch it very much, but he is going to have English and maths lessons in the afternoon. He thinks hard and finds a way.

“Hello, Mrs Black,”Tom says to his teacher on the telephone.“Tom is ill in bed. He wants to ask for half a day’s leave（请半天假）.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,”says Mrs Black.“But who is that?”

“It’s my father, Mrs Black,”Tom answers.

1. How old is Tom?

A. Eleven. B. Twelve.

C. Thirteen. D. Fourteen.

2. Which grade is Tom in?

A. Grade Seven. B. Grade Eight.

C. Grade Nine. D. Grade Six.

3. Why does Tom often read newspapers?

A. Because there are many interesting stories in them.

B. Because he likes to read news in them.

C. Because reading newspapers is interesting.

D. Because there is some information（信息）about football matches in them.

4.Why does Tom ask for half a day’s leave?

A. Because he is ill.

B. Because he wants to watch the football match on TV.

C. Because he doesn’t like maths lessons.

D. Because he wants to see a movie.

5. What does the teacher think of Tom after she hears Tom’s last words?

Mrs Green lives in a small village . Her husband is dead ,but she has one son .His name is Jack . He is twenty-one .He worked in the shop in the village and lived with his mother , but then he found a job in a faraway ()town named Green Sea .He went and lived there .Mrs Green was not happy about it .

Last Sunday ,Mrs Green was angry .She got on a train and went to her son’s house in Green Sea . Then she said to him,“Jack ,why do you never telephone me ?”

A mother and her young son get into a bus in a small city and sit down. The bus conductor comes to them for their money. The mother says: “I want one ticket（票）to the zoo ” and gives him one yuan. The conductor looks at the small boy for a few seconds(一会) and then says to him, “How old are you ,young man?” The mother begins to speak, but the conductor stops her, The boy says: “I’m four at home, and two in the buses.” At last(最后) the mother has to take fifty fen out of her pocket and gives it to the conductor.

1.Why does the conductor look at the small boy for a few seconds?

A. She likes him.

B. She thinks the boy need to buy a half-price(半价) ticket.

C. She knows the small boy.

D. She saw the boy somewhere.

2.Why does the conductor stop the mother and let the boy say?

A. The boy’s words are interesting.

C. The small boy can tell the truth(事实). B. The mother is a bad mother.

D. She loves the small boy.

3.At last the mother___________.

A. buys another ticket

C. says sorry to the conductor B. buys a half-price ticket for the boy

Mr Jackson is having a meeting. He looks at the clock on the wall. It is 7:45. “The last bus left fifteen minutes ago,” he thinks. “I’ll have to stay in a hotel tonight.”

Mr Jackson always drives home after work. He lives outside the city. There is something wrong with his car, so today he has to take a bus to his office.

The meeting is over. When he goes out of the warm office, it begins to snow. He wants to have some warm food and soup first. Most restaurants are full of people and he has to go into a small one. The waiter shows(出示) him the menu(菜单).

“Some hot soup, please,” says Mr Jackson.

Later, the waiter brings the soup to him. When Mr Jackson is drinking, he finds something in it. “Come here, boy,” he says. “Look, there is a hair in my soup!”

The waiter says, “it’s usually a fly(苍蝇) in the soup, I remember.”

1. Mr Jackson usually goes home ____________.

A. by bus B.by car C.by bike D. on foot

2. __________, so Mr Jackson has to stay in the office.

A. There is no bus B.There is a very important meeting

C.Something is wrong with his car D.It is very cold outside

3. The last bus leaves at ___________.

A.7:30 B.7:45 C.7:55 D.8:05

4. Mr Jackson wants to have some hot soup first because ___________.

A.the restaurant is very warm B. he is hungry

C.there are few people in the restaurant D.he feels cold after he leaves his office

5. The waiter’s words mean that __________.

A.the soup in the restaurant is nice B.the hair is Mr Jackson’s

C.there are usually flies in the soup D.he has to say sorry to Mr Jackson

The students are having their chemistry（化学）class. Miss Li is telling the children what water is like. After that, she asks her students some questions, and one of them is, “Boys and girls! What is water? Can you tell me?”She waits for a few minutes, but no one answers her. Then Miss Li asks again. “Why don’t you answer my question? I tell you what water is like , right?”

Then a boy puts up his hand and says, “Miss Li, you tell us that water has no color and no smell（味道）. But I think that water is something that is black when I wash my hand in it.”

All the students begin to laugh(笑). Miss Li laughs too. Then another boy puts up his hand, Miss Li says “What do you think, Wang Bing?” The boy says:” Miss Li, where can we find water that has no color and no smell?”

“Why do you say so?” Miss Li asks.

“The water in the river behind my house is always black and it has a bad smell.” answers the boy. And most of the children think he is right.

“I am sorry to hear that, children.” says the teacher. “Our water is getting dirtier. That is a problem. All of us must try our best (尽力) to make it clean again.”

Mr Smith goes to a dinner party(晚宴).He is wearing (穿着)old clothes. He comes into the room. But people in the room don’t look at him. They don’t ask him to sit at the table.

Mr Smith goes home and puts on（穿上）his good clothes. After that he goes to the party. Everyone in the room stands up and smiles（微笑）at him. They give him very good food to eat.

Mr Smith takes off（脱下）his clothes, and puts them in the food and says, “Eat, clothes!”

The other people ask, “What are you doing?”

He answers, “I’m asking my coat to eat food. I am wearing my old clothes. You don’t look at me. You don’t ask me to sit down. Now I’m in these clothes. And you give me very good food. Now I see, you give the food to my clothes, not to me!”

( )1.Mr Smith goes to the party, but people in the room don’t look at him. Because__________.

A. he doesn’t have a car B. he is young

C. he is wearing his old clothes D. he is old

( )2. Mr Smith goes home to_______.

A.put on his good clothes B. eat dinner

C. bring his son D. wear his good hat

( ) 3. Mr Smith goes back to the party,people stand up and smile at hm because______

Bob and Jim once worked in the same factory. One day, Bob lent Jim ten dollars, but then Jim left his work and went to work in another town without giving back the money.

Bob didn’t see Jim for a year. And at that time he knew from another friend that Jim was in another town and staying at a hotel. So he went there to see Jim late in the evening.

When he got to Jim’s room, he saw Jim’s shoes near the door.“Well, he must be in ,”he thought, and knocked at the door. There was no answer. He knocked again, and said,“I know you are in, Jim. Your shoes are out here.”

“I’ve gone out in my boots（靴子）,” answered Jim.

1. Bob and Jim once worked in different factories.

2. One day Bob borrowed ten dollars from Jim.

3. Jim didn’t give back the money to Bob and went to work in another town later.

An English traveler found himself in Norway with only enough money to buy the ticket for him to go back home. As he knew that it would take him only two days to get to England, he decided that he could easily spend the time without food. So he bought a ticket and got on the ship. The man closed his ears to the sound of the lunch bell. When dinnertime came, he didn’t go to dinning room, saying that he was not feeling very well. The next morning he still didn’t have breakfast and at lunchtime he again stayed in his room. But at dinnertime he was so hungry that he went to the dinning room and ate everything the waiter put in front of him. He got ready for the quarrel(争执).“Bring me the bill,” he said. “The bill, sir?” said the waiter in surprise. “There isn’t any bill. On our ship meals are included (包括) in the money for the ticket,” said the waiter. 1. The story happened _______.A. in England B. on a ship from Norway to England C. in Norway D. on a ship from England to Norway 2. The traveler didn’t go to the dinning room first because __________.A. he had no money B. he didn’t feel very wellC. he didn’t want to eat anything D. he didn’t hear the sound of the bell 3. The traveler went to the dinning room to eat something because ______. A. his friend had given him some money B. the waiter had asked him to change his mind C. he learned that there was no bill on the ship D. he was too hungry 4. The traveler had _________ on the ship. A. only one meal B. two meals C. three meals D. none 5. After the traveler finished eating, __________.A. he had a quarrel with waiter over the bill B. he drank a lotC. he asked the waiter to bring him the change (零钱) D. he came to know that travelers on the ship had free meals

Long, long ago there was a very foolish thief. Do you know what he did one day? When he wanted to steal(偷) the bell on his neighbour’s door, he walked up to the door, took hold of(抓住) the bell and pulled hard. The bell made a very loud noise. The thief was afraid and went home.

Then he sat down to think, “I must do something about the noise,” he said. He thought and thought. At last he had an idea. “Ah, I’ll put some cotton in my ears. Then I won’t be able to hear the noise.” The next day he went to the door of his neighbor, and took hold of the bell. This time he pulled even harder. The bell rang loudly, but the thief did not hear anything. With another hard pull he got the bell out. Just then the neighbour came running out. “Steal my bell? I’ll teach you a lesson(教训),” the angry man shouted. And he hit the thief on the nose.

The foolish thief did not know how the neighbor fond out he was stealing the bell. “Why did he come out just then?” he wondered(感到疑惑).

( )1. The thief was trying to get __________.

A. his neighbor B. his neighbor’s doorbell

C. some cotton D. a door with a bell on it

( )2. The thief put some cotton in his ears. He thought it would be___for him to steal the doorbell.

A. safe B. difficult C. dangerous D. easy

( )3. The neighbor ran out probably(很可能) because __________.

A. he knew his doorbell was being stolen

B. he thought someone was eager(渴望的)to visit him

C. He realized (意识到) something strange happened

D. Both B and C

( )4. The neighbor hit the thief to __________.

A. give him lessons B. thank him for stealing the bell

C. help him with the bell D. be his teacher

( )5. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The thief understood why he was hit on the nose.

B. The thief knew why the neighbor came out.

C. The thief thought the neighbor cold not hear the bell.

D. The thief didn’t want to know why the neighbor ran out at the time he stole the doorbell.

Each morning a rich man found a poor man sitting on a park bench (长凳). The poor man always sat there, looking at the big hotel in which the rich man lived. One day the rich man got out of his car and said to the poor man, “Excuse me, but I just want to know why you sit here and look at my hotel every morning.” “Sir”, said the poor man, “I am a failure (失败者). I have no money, no family, no home. I sleep on this bench, and every night I dream that one day I'll sleep in that hotel.” The rich man said, “Tonight your dream will come true. I'll pay for the best room in that hotel for you for a whole month.

A few days later, the rich man went by the poor man's room to ask him how he was enjoying himself. To his surprise, he found that the man had moved out of the hotel, back to his park bench. When the rich man asked why, the poor man said, “you see, when I am down here sleeping on my bench, I dream I'm up there, in that big hotel. It's a wonderful dream. But when I was up there, I dreamed I was back to this cold bench. It was a terrible dream, and I couldn't get any sleep at all.”

( ) 1. The poor man lived in ________ before he met the rich man.

A. the hotel B. his home C. the park D. the car

( ) 2. Every morning, the poor man sat on the bench and __________.

A. waited for the rich man B. looked at the rich man's hotel

C. looked at the rich man's car D. enjoyed the clean air

( ) 3. Every night the poor man dreamed of _____________.

A. sleeping in that hotel B. becoming rich

C. owning that hotel D. being the rich man's friend

( ) 4. How long can the poor man live in the hotel for free?

A. Tonight. B. One night C. A few days. D. A whole month.

( ) 5. The poor man moved out of the hotel because __________.

A. he didn't want to live in such a fine room B. he didn't like the rich man

C. he couldn't pay for the room D. he couldn't get any sleep at all there

A dog has a piece of meat in his mouth. As he is walking on a bridge, he looks down and sees himself. He thinks it is another dog. That dog has a piece of meat in his mouth too. He says to himself, “I want to eat more meat. I must get his meat. Then I can have two pieces. ”He opens his mouth to bark. His meat goes down into the river.